MAJOR PROJECTS
10 Deserts Project
Desert Support Services (DSS) is proud to have supported the 10 Deserts Project in Australia to enable Indigenous peoples to realise social, cultural, environmental and economic outcomes from their desert lands. The Project will sustain the largest Indigenous-led connected conservation network on Earth and keep Australia’s outback healthy for the benefit of the entire world.
The 10 Deserts Project, initially led by DSS and now led by the Indigenous Desert Alliance (IDA), aims to build the capacity of Indigenous groups to look after country for a range of economic, social, cultural and environmental outcomes. It sought to integrate contemporary natural resource management best-practice with traditional cultural and ecological knowledge and establish systems and approaches to build environmental resilience across the desert landscape.
Leadership of the 10 Deserts Project transitioned from DSS to the Indigenous Desert Alliance (IDA) on 1 July 2021 with the support and endorsement of the BHP Foundation.
The transition of the 10 Deserts Project to the IDA represented the achievement of a key milestone of the Project. One of the deliverable outcomes of the Project was to have a representative Indigenous organisation to support Indigenous land management across the desert into the future, and one which had capacity to lead the 10 Deserts Project – the IDA is that organisation.
DSS is proud of the work it undertook in successfully leading the Project over the first few years and is confident that IDA will continue to work with the 10 Deserts Project Steering Committee to support traditional owners seeking to look after their country and build a positive future for their future generations.
Desert PBC Alliance
This project brought together all PBCs in the Central Desert region to share information and learn from each other, build networks and provide a platform for members to speak to government and stakeholders about matters of importance.
Indigenous Protected Areas
DSS provides project management support to the following IPA projects.
Matuwa Kurarra Kurarra IPA (transitioning to TMPAC)
